filePro network problem

[Fairlight]

At Wed, Dec 20, 2006 at 05:46:17PM -0600 or thereabouts, 
suspect Steve Wiltsie was observed uttering:
> 
> A System Error Has Occurred, Automatic Processing Line Number : 27, lookup
> comp =filename r:rn-e, Error Number -1, Windows error #64, The specified
> network name is no longer available.
> 
>  ***A System Error Has Occurred*** Fatal Error, /filepro/filename/index B:
> Error -1, Windows error #64: The specified network name is no longer
> available
> 
> These error messages can come during idle times or while they are actively
> entering records.  The 2 Dell PCs are used more than any other PC on their
> network to access the filePro applications.
[snip]
> updated the Intel network drivers on the server (more than once as newer
> ones are released)
> switched to the second network adapter on the server
> updated the firmware in the server
> updated the BIOS in the Dell PCs from A00 to A08
> installed a PCI network adapter in one of the PCs as a test - same problems
> connected the 2 problem PCs and the server with new Cat 5e network jumper
> cables
> replaced the 10/100 network switch with another one - twice
> replaced the 10/100 network switch with a 10/100/1000 switch - the errors
> just come faster
> removed spyware and adware from the 2 PCs
> reformatted and reinstalled XP Pro on the PCs from the recovery disks and
> ran all Windows Updates
> loaned them a new Nobilis XP Pro PC for a week - no network connection
> problems with it
> contacted Microsoft for a patch mentioned in a KnowledgeBase article with
> these errors as part of the text - the patch files were older than the ones
> in the system and the problem was supposed to be fixed already
> 
> none of these things have fixed the problem with the 2 Dell PCs.
> 
> At this point, the customer thinks I am an idiot for selling them a new
> server that has these problems.  I have lots of customers running the same

It's not the servers.  Well, kind of.  :)  It's not the servers themselves,
I don't think.  It's something in the networking.  I say this because I can
have Explorer (the filesystem viewing Explorer, not IE) sitting on,
say, my O: drive, which is really Opal's D drive, for instance.  It can be
there, totally idle to the naked eye, nothing copying, no refreshes,
nothing at all.  Just sitting there as I use other applications, watch a
movie, or do nothing at all.  If the wireless network goes unsynced on me,
I get the -exact- same error from Explorer about the specified network name
no longer being available.  As soon as wireless resyncs, I get it back.  So
I'm seeing this out of an MS application itself, Explorer.  The underlying
code that does CIFS must have a heartbeat of some sort for this to happen,
and if it gets no response, any program is going to get this kind of
response.

Which means it's 99.9% likely, in my opinion, to be your networking, not
the servers.  You said you replaced darn near everything, including the
cables.  If these are hardwired systems, this should not be a regular
occurrance.  However, I've seen Windows boxes occasionally disconnect from
samba servers in the same fashion, although more rarely...maybe once or
twice a week, for reasons we've never spent the money looking into.

About the only things I'm pretty much dead certain of is that the network is
dropping out between the two, and it's -not- app-specific.  It happens on
95, 98se, 2000, and XP.  It even happens against linux running samba.

Unfortunately, unlike NFS, I know of no way to tell Windows' CIFS layer to
hang around gracefully until the data source returns.  The only solution I
know of is to fix the networking between the systems.

> version of filePro 5.0.x on XP Pro systems from a similar Windows 2003
> Server on a 10/100 or 10/100/1000 network with no problems at all.  I really
> don't think it is the server but something that loads on the Dell PCs or
> something else on their network - they are a county agency and the switch in
> their office is connected to the overall county office network.  The county
> network guy puts his own anti-virus software on the PCs even though they
> ordered the server with Symantec A-V Corporate Edition.  He also loads
> something called Log Me In, or something like that, which I assume is
> similar to Remote Desk Top or PC Anywhere.  Have you heard of any issues
> with that program and Dell PCs?

Okay, take -OFF- the Symantec/Norton crud.  You have only to look through
very few gaming forums to know how badly it affects some things--regardless
of PC brand.  I've heard of Norton's A/V doing everything from messing
about with networks to causing blue screens of death.  I won't go near
it.  (FWIW, the NVidia network stuff that now comes with some cards is also
supposed to have issues.  I will only use the card drivers, disabling or
uninstalling all else.)

Also, make sure you're -not- using auto-select for the speed and duplex.
Set all cards and ports on the switches to a hardwired rate, make sure
they're the same duplex, etc.  Auto-negotiation has been the problem of
many a network that was sporadically unstable.  Auto-select is notorious
for this, really, and is one of the first things I'd check before I even
got to physical cables, cards, hardware, etc.

mark->
-- 
Try our new SPF-0 lotion, SunScream[tm].  Get it while it's hot!